


A Date on Skates

by kippenlakes



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, F/F, First Dates, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, red and ricky aren't boyfriends yet, redky - Freeform, roller skating, seventies theme night, they become boyfriends later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kippenlakes/pseuds/kippenlakes
Summary: When Ricky asked Red on a rollerskating date, he definitely didn’t expect his godlike skateboarding friend to barely be able to stand up on skates. But he didn’t mind. And he especially didn’t mind when he found himself kissing his boyfriend later.
Relationships: Ashlyn Caswell/Kourtney, Big Red/Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Carlos/Seb Matthew-Smith, Gina Porter/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	1. Homosexual Activity

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy lovelies & please let me know if there are any typos i am, in fact, illiterate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big Red wanted to ask Ricky Bowen on a date. 
> 
> Ricky Bowen also wanted to ask Big Red on a date. 
> 
> One of their plans to do gets ruined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter isn't necessary to read to understand the next chapter and i did not proofread but proceed n enjoy :)

It was after school. Rehearsals had finished and safe to say, it didn’t go well. There were problems with tech and a couple of actors showed up late, meaning Miss Jenn wasn’t happy. However, it was one thing to witness one of Miss Jenn’s tangents and another thing to be a victim of it. 

That day, Ricky had shown up to rehearsals a couple of minutes late because his mom called him to let him know that she was dating someone new, or rather his mom’s new beau, Todd, answered the phone when Ricky called her. It hadn’t even been a month since the divorce, but Ricky never saw this coming. It completely caught him off guard. Thinking about his mom with someone who wasn’t his dad kept Ricky thinking. Of course, Ricky knew the divorce was final when his mom moved back to Chicago, but he never thought about the possibility that either of his parents could find a new person to love. What would happen to his already broken family?

So when Miss Jenn raised her voice at him, Ricky couldn’t do anything but flinch. And seeing Miss Jenn’s face immediately soften, made Ricky feel guilty; for letting her down, letting anyone down, being useless. He looked up to the wings to see Red tinkering with some on the lighting controls. Red always knew how to make him feel better whether it was by playing with his hair or showing him a funny video on YouTube.

However, Red was previously occupied. He was clearly distracted over something, but he wouldn’t tell Ricky. Every time Ricky would look up to the wings to see if Red was okay, all he got back was a small reassuring smile that wasn’t believable whatsoever. 

Red was nervous.

Super nervous.

There was one specific thing on Red’s to-do list that had stayed there for about a week, waiting to be completed. Out of everything written on his whiteboard, one objective stood out. And that objective was to ask Ricky Bowen on a date. 

Big Red and Ricky had admitted they liked each other after homecoming. It was their senior year and their last homecoming ever so everyone agreed it would be good to go. After countless days of practicing slow dancing in Red’s bedroom, Ricky’s crush unconsciously shifted from Nini to Red. It was like everything kept changing and Ricky didn’t know how to control any of it. 

And when Ricky realized the reason Nini went to homecoming was Gina Porter, he also realized the one person he had wanted to dance with all night was the same person he’d been dancing with for weeks.

So when Ricky sat with Red after everyone had danced with Carlos, his mind was racing, a million thoughts running through his head: possible scenarios, the question of did he even like boys, did Red even like boys??? Ricky remained positively quiet for the remainder of the dance, despite Red’s countless attempts to start the conversation. 

Ricky avoided Red for the next couple of days, unsure of his sexuality, his choices. Ricky was lost, yet everything seemed to make sense and one day, Ricky blurted out his feelings while they played video games in Red’s bedroom and the smile that grew on Red’s face was like no other.

Ricky never did well with change and sure, things were awkward at first, but becoming more than friends with Red was something Ricky adjusted extremely well to. And Ricky wanted to make sure Red knew this. 

Ricky Bowen wanted to ask Big Red on a date.

After rehearsals ended, Ricky stayed after for an extra 20 minutes with Nini and Miss Jenn to discuss some parts needs for the musical while Red waited outside. When he finished, Ricky stopped by his locker to get his skateboard. Before he ran outside to meet with Red, he noticed Carlos and Red speaking quietly on the bench outside. Ricky Bowen was a sleuth, to say the least. And somewhat nosy and curious.

“I just don’t know how to do it, Carlos,” Red sighed. 

“Ask him, Red. You don’t see the way Ricky looks at you. It’s already clear to see how much happier he is now than a couple of months ago,” Carlos reassured. “What’re you planning for the date?”

And just like that, Red became animated.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

Ricky went back inside the school before Red or Carlos could see him. “Okay, so Red is planning on asking you on a date,” Ricky sighed. “Think, Ricky, think. You’re a dumbass but you’ve got to have good ideas every once in a while.”

Okay, so. Ricky didn’t have good ideas. He was never good with the romantic stuff. There’d be a gesture here and there, but it was hard. 

So in true Ricky Bowen style, Ricky decided to just go for it. Yep, go for it. 

Ricky placed his skateboard on the ground and skated towards Red and Carlos, trying to emphasize whatever noise was present to cover up the fact that he was eavesdropping.

“Hey, Red! Ready to go?” 

Red looked at Ricky with a goofy smile and that’s when Ricky noticed that Red was wearing one of his hoodies. It was slightly too large for Red, causing the sleeves to fall past his hands.

_Fuck. He was so cute._

“Yeah, let’s go! I’ll see you tomorrow, Carlos. Thanks for everything,” Red grinned.

“Of course! Text me if anything happens!” Carlos smiled at his phone as he walked back into school, presumably talking to Seb.

Once Carlos was gone, Red and Ricky started walking to Ricky’s car.

The pair were talking about the most recent episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine when Red got quiet and glanced at Ricky.

“Rick?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

Red took a deep breath as if bracing himself for something. “So… the rollerskating place near the Spoon, they’re having this 70s night theme and there’s supposed to be a grand re-opening, you know, with rollerskating food like nachos and stuff. Plus! Queen will probably play for most of the night and I know you love Queen. I think everyone else is going, too! But anyway--”

Red continued rambling as he tended to do while nervous while Ricky short-circuited on the inside. Before Ricky could think, his mouth opened and he blurted out louder than he intended to: 

“Red, will you go out with me?”

“Huh?” Red’s eyes widened. “Wait! I was in the middle of asking you out! You can’t just do that!”

“I just did. Look, I’ve been figuring out how to, _you know,_ make my feelings more known and that’s always been hard for me to do. So, will you, Big Red, please go out with me?”

By now, the two had stopped by Red’s car in the school parking lot. Red and Ricky alternated driving and today, it was Ricky’s turn. Most students and teachers had gone home by now, although Miss Jenn’s bright teal car was still there. Both Red and Ricky felt time stop. Thoughts raced through each of their heads.

_Would Red say yes? Should I have even asked him? He was already asking me out, why did I cut him off?!_

_Did Ricky just ask me out?? Sure, my plans were kind of ruined but he looks so scared right now. And I’ve liked him since the eighth grade._ _How could I possibly say no?_

“Yes,” Red said simply. “I’d love to. Even though you _completely_ ruined my plans to ask you out.”

Ricky felt a weight off his shoulders. He felt so much lighter. He was floating for the best possible reason. “Cool.” A beat passed. “I don’t really know what happens next.”

Red and Ricky looked at each other and bust out laughing. 

“We go home and study for our finals coming up?”

Ricky groaned. “God, don’t remind me. Trigonometry can suck my dick.”

Red and Ricky put their backpacks in the trunk laughing about how Mr. Khan got taped to a tree because his students convinced him it was for charity before heading to Red’s house. 

On the way to the Redanovich household, Born to be Brave blasted throughout the car, but was quieted down as they got closer. Red turned his body to face Ricky, “Do you know how _long_ I’ve been waiting to ask you out?”

Ricky chuckled. “How long, Red?”

“You know my whiteboard? The one I put the shit I need to do on.”

“The one that you used to slap me in a pillow fight instead of an actual pillow?”

“Yeah, that one. But that’s beside the point.”

“What is the point, then?” Ricky stopped when the lights flashed red, looking at his best friend (slash more than a friend? person?).

“It’s been on there since homecoming! _Homecoming!_ That was three weeks ago, Ricky. And it took you three seconds to pry it from my cold, dead hands.” Red deepened his voice towards the end as his attempt to appear more menacing.

When the light turned green before Ricky accelerated, he grabbed one of Red’s hands and intertwined their fingers. “I don’t know, Red. Your hand doesn’t seem cold or dead to me.”

When Red didn’t say anything, Ricky was afraid he did something wrong. Even though it had been a couple of weeks, both of them had been dancing around what would actually happen in the future between them. They were dancing around the topic but it was so apparent they were completely and totally whipped. It was innocent and they had started showing more affection for each other, but it was still surprising when one of them held the other’s hand, gave a long hug, or laid on each other casually during rehearsals.

“Was that too sudden? I’m sorry, I know we’re taking things slow,” Ricky began to slip his hand out of Red’s, but he was met with the smaller hand tightening around his.

“No, it wasn’t. I’m just… I’ve liked you. For a _long_ time. And I know we never did the whole emotional thing but things are different now. You don’t have to feel like you can’t do stuff like hold my hand or other cute things that people who like each other do. I like it, and I would tell you if I didn’t,” Red smiled somewhat sadly at Ricky.

Red knew what Ricky went through with the divorce. It amplified Ricky’s insecurities when showing his feelings for other people and made saying phrases like ‘I love you’ a lot more difficult. Ricky faced a lot of pressure trying to keep his parents together and it took a toll on him when his parents legally separated.

“I know, I know. I’m still getting used to things, too. But it’s getting easier. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I have a date with a pretty great guy soon,” Ricky smiled softly as the car pulled into the driveway of Red’s house.

“No way, so do I! That’s pretty crazy, dude.”

Ricky rolled his eyes playfully before getting out of the car, Red following his actions. “You’re such a loser.”

“Yet I’m the one helping you with trig because you don’t know what a reference angle is,” Red held a triumphant look on his face as they got their stuff out of the trunk.

“What the fuck even is exact value?”

•••

As soon as Red and Ricky entered the house, they made a beeline for Red’s room, ready to procrastinate rather than actually get productive work done. Ricky flopped face down on Red’s bed as he always did except now, when he did that, Ricky would wait for Red to sit down so he could lay in his lap. 

“What’re we watching today?” Ricky mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Red’s waist, curling up beside him. Red had his computer on his lap, pulling up Netflix.

“We could always watch Star Wars so I can finally drag you to the dark side,” Red suggested.

“No,” Ricky whined. 

“You are such a child,” Red laughed. 

Ricky turned to face Red’s laptop screen, burying his head into Red’s (well, technically his) hoodie. Red unconsciously started playing with Ricky’s curls, immediately putting the other boy into a state of relaxation. “Umm, how about Into the Spiderverse?”

Ricky lifted his head up suddenly, his smile reaching his eyes. “A man after my own heart, truly.”

“Oh my god, it’s like we’re best friends!” Red exclaimed sarcastically although a smile plastered his face.

It wasn’t long before the boys had fallen asleep to the cinematic masterpiece that was Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Ricky slowly woke up as the ending credits continued playing. Careful not to wake up Red, Ricky reached over to his phone on the bedside table to check the time. It was half-past seven and there were still five chapters of trigonometry they had to cover.

“Fuck,” Ricky muttered.

Red stirred slightly, his eyes opening. “Hey, what’s up?” Red yawned as he sat up.

Even though Ricky was starting to stress out over the final worth 18% of his semester average, seeing Red’s sleepy face definitely made things better. “It’s 7:30.”

“Oh shit,” the redhead groaned, plopping back down on the pillows. “Okay, let me get my notes and then we can start. I’ll ask my mom to order some pizza for us to eat, too.”

“Sounds good.” Ricky got out of bed when Red did, stretching his limbs. Red was humming ‘I Want It That Way’ to himself while searching through his backpack, swaying his head side to side. 

And Ricky remembered that earlier that day, Big Red has said yes to going on a date with him. Ricky chuckled to himself and looked at Red’s desk where his whiteboard lay. 

  * Ask Ricky on a date (rollerskating?)



His heart melted. The last time either of them had gone to the roller rink was before it closed for renovations. The cast for East High’s production of High School Musical went as a bonding experience earlier in the year per request of Miss Jenn. Red had barely skated and left early, which Ricky now knew was because he wanted to spare himself seeing him and Nini.

“Hey, can we still go rollerskating for our date?” Ricky asked. 

“Oh, yeah! If you want to! It was just an idea really,” Red shrugged.

Red sat on the couch and began to set up his notes on the table in front of him. Ricky sat down beside him, staring at him while Red was concentrated on sorting his trig notes. 

“Yeah! I mean I’d like to if you’re okay with that. I know the last time,” Ricky cleared his throat, “wasn’t particularly enjoyable for you and it can be like a redo. Well, not a redo, but a chance to make things our own… and you _love_ 70s music,” Ricky said softly.

“Rollerskating it is. The Seventies night is tomorrow and it starts at 6, so we can show up whenever,” Red looked up at Ricky, a soft smile matching his. 

“I’ll pick you up?” 

“You don’t have a car.”

“Meet at my house and I’ll drive us there?”

“There you go,” Red’s eyes drifted to make eye contact with Ricky and even though it would’ve been very easy to get distracted, Red quickly snapped out of it, realizing their trigonometry final was tomorrow, “We should get started.” They had been reviewing previous chapters nights before, but today was meant to review anything either of them had trouble with.

Ricky blinked and shook his head, “Um, yeah, yeah. Can we start on chapter three? I still have no idea what I’m doing.”

Red flipped through a packet and showed it to Ricky, “So here, whenever we see cosecant, secant, or cotangent, the first step in establishing the identity is changing the trig function to be in terms of sine and cosine.”

It was 10:30 at night when Ricky got a call from his dad asking when he’d be home. Red texted Ricky’s dad asking if he could stay the night, to which Mike said 'Keep him' in response and unsurprisingly, Ricky fell asleep laying on top of his boy while Red played with his curls while he dreamt of tomorrow.


	2. A Rollerskate to the Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ricky had an idea of how he wanted his first date with Red to go, but there's no way he expected a near-death occurrence to signify the end of their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the actual date. even though it's not canon, red and ricky are boyfriends and that's facts

“My wardrobe consists of hoodies, jeans, and Vans. Carlos, what am I supposed to do?” Ricky groaned, flopping on his bed.

“Don’t worry, Ky. We can make this work!” Carlos exclaimed while opening Ricky’s closet, only to be disappointed. “Huh.”

“What?” Ricky asked as he sat up. “No hope?”

“Actually…” Carlos said as he found the one article of clothing to tie everything together. “Ricky, my dear, we’re gonna make you look like a Greaser.” Carlos pulled Ricky’s black leather jacket out of the closet with a grin reaching up to his eyes.

“A what now?” 

“You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking.” 

Ricky didn’t say anything but give Carlos a pair of wide eyes and a shy smile. “I didn’t even like musicals up until this year, okay? The most I know about it is that Nini would always try to drag me to these Grease sing-a-longs and I never went.”

“Ricky, you’re hopeless,” Carlos said exasperatedly. “But it’s okay, Red loves you no matter what.”

Ricky couldn’t help but smile at Carlos’ comment and he started to think about what Red would wear to the 70s night. 

_Red was going to look amazing._ _No doubt about it._

Just as Ricky finished getting ready, the doorbell rang. Ricky became even more excited but a wave of nervousness rushed over him. _What if something goes wrong?_ Ricky was used to messing up the good things in his life up. What if he lost Red?

Carlos had left earlier to get ready and meet up with Seb and before Ricky could continue spiraling downward, he left his room to go downstairs. 

When he got to the bottom step, Red was talking to his dad and they were laughing over something. Red was wearing a bright teal windbreaker with colorful accents that coordinated with his purple jeans and sure, maybe any other person could’ve pulled the look off. But this was _Red._

And honestly, seeing Red in clothes that wasn’t Ricky’s was a rare sight. 

“Hey, Rick! Come on down!” Ricky was snapped out of ~staring~ at Red and hurried over.

On the inside, Ricky wanted to crawl back into his room and hide under the blanket. His dad would always take the chance to embarrass him, although done endearingly. 

The day Ricky told his dad about him and Red, he expected the situation to be met with a joke and some sarcasm, but his dad just listened. He was patient and in the end, did nothing but support his son. Ricky felt incredibly lucky to have such an amazing dad. He tries and that’s what matters.

“Your dad was just telling me about the time you bit your aunt when she wouldn’t give you a pack of Cosmic Brownies,” Red smiled, somewhat threateningly. As if he was going to use this knowledge in the near future.

“I think it’s time to go,” Ricky pointedly said to his father while guiding Red towards the door.

Before Red could say anything, Ricky closed the front door. “I was having such a nice conversation with your dad,” Red pouted.

“And now you get to have a nice conversation with me,” Ricky grinned and pressed a quick kiss to the redhead’s temple. “Also, you look… great. Like really great.”

“You do, too,” Red beamed, “I’m digging the Grease look.”

Red threw Ricky the keys as he got in the passenger seat, a small smile resting on his face. “So I’m guessing Carlos helped you get ready?”

“What, you don’t think I could put this together myself?” Ricky teased.

“I will always believe in you, but when it comes to fashion, I’m not so sure,” Red joked.

Ricky chuckled and pulled out of the driveway, “So are you ready for our _date?”_ Ricky wiggled his eyebrows to which Red just responded with an eye roll. 

This roller skating date was technically their first date. Although they’ve spent countless days since their confessions cuddling in bed, eating at the local diner, and upping the PDA, neither of them had asked them on a date until now.

Hopefully, everything would turn out the way it was planned.

•••

“Just before I make a fool of myself, I’ll probably fall on my face. I can’t skate, like at all,” Red warned as they slowly parked in front of the roller rink. 

“I don’t believe that,” Ricky scoffed.

“It’s okay, I live to prove you wrong,” Red proudly stated.

Red wrapped an arm around Ricky’s waist, partially curling into his side as they walked over to the skates booth. All of their friends from theatre were already skating with their joyfriends except for EJ, who realized he had bigger things to worry about his senior year than having someone to date; Nini and Gina were holding hands, Kourtney and Ashlyn were sharing earbuds while skating, Seb and Carlos had their arms linked. Everyone stepped back onto the platform to meet with Ricky and Red, smiles on their faces.

“Hey, y’all!” Gina exclaimed, pulling both of them into a hug.

“Hey, guys! How long have you been here?” Ricky questioned.

“Not too long, glad to see you guys are finally here, though,” Seb grinned. 

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and multicolored lights flashed throughout the rink. ‘I Want to Break Free’ by Queen started playing, and the way Ricky’s eyes lit up made Red ready to risk it all. It was cliche to say, but Red looked at Ricky like he hung the moon and stars. It was hard to believe, but somewhere inside, Red knew that Ricky looked at him like that too.

Both the boys were sitting on the bench, pulling on their skates while everyone else went to dance to the music. “Ready?” Ricky held his hand out to help Red up.

“Uh huh,” Red agreed hesitantly.

“Hey, come on, you’ll be fine,” Ricky reassured softly.

Red tightly gripped Ricky’s hand as he was led to the smoother roller skating floor, which would require him to step down a step. Which Red was completely ready for. Yep.

For someone who wasn’t scared of hitting his head while skateboarding, Red was irrationally afraid right now. “Hey, I got you,” Ricky whispered. 

Ricky stepped down, holding both of Red’s arms after.

Maybe it was stupid for Red to be so scared of this. When everyone went for the bonding experience, Red doesn’t even remember skating at all, he remembers sitting by himself in the food court, moping. And now, to top it all off, he was on a date. With his best friend. His nerves were going haywire.

As soon as Red stepped down, he was surprised when he didn’t completely wipe out. Ricky pulled him a couple of inches to the center of the floor as people skated around them. 

“I did it!” Red pumped his fists into the air.

And before he knew it, Red’s excitement was crushed by contact with the floor and the weight of a six-foot tall boy on top of him. Without knowing it, Red had pulled Ricky down with him.

“You did it, huh?” Ricky teased.

You would think people would offer some help, but most people just skated around them until EJ skated up to them, a phone in his hand; everyone else behind him struggling to hold in laughs.

“Don’t you dare say anything, EJ,” Ricky glared playfully at the jock.

“Wasn’t gonna say anything,” EJ chuckled as he helped the two boys get up.

“Good job, guys,” Nini teased.

“Ricky, I thought you were better than this, for shame!” Gina said dramatically.

Kourtney and Ashlyn were about to say something when Ricky beat them to it.

“To be fair, it wasn’t me,” Ricky turned to look pointedly at the redhead grinning sheepishly beside him. Red’s expression didn’t change except for the fact that he swiveled his head to look up at Ricky.

“I proved you wrong!”

Ricky melted, pulling the shorter boy to his chest.

“Do you guys want to make a skating train?” Seb asked excitedly. 

Carlos looked at his boyfriend in adoration of his glee before asking the group who the best skater was so they could be at the front.

The next couple minutes before disaster striked were met with yells to go faster and laughs of pure enjoyment. EJ was in the front of the line while everyone else held onto the shoulders of the person in front of them. And the faster EJ skated, the more people they almost crashed into. Unfortunately, it was too late when EJ lost balance trying to narrowly avoid a five year old boy and everyone crashed into a wall. 

The roller rink’s manager came out to speak to them and thanks to some higher power, they didn’t get kicked out, but it was probably smart to not do that again.

As it got later, some of the group went to get snacks at the food court while others continued skating. By now, Red had gotten the swing of not falling and the two boys; one dressed as a Greaser and the other dressed as a typical 70s boy; held hands while skating.

This meant that Ricky would be singing along to the songs playing and dancing to them as Red was just along for the ride. 

It had been a while sing Queen played, so when the first few beats of ‘Somebody to Love’ came on, Red knew what was about to happen.

Ever since they were younger, whenever this song came on, Red would sing the chorus parts while Ricky pretended he was Freddie Mercury. There was also an unspoken rule that there was no half-assing the performance. It was all or nothing.

“Can anybody find me, somebody to looooove?” Red sang as Ricky twirled him.

“Each morning I wake up and die a little,” Ricky’s eyes were closed, one hand clutching his chest. “Can barely stand on my feet.”

Red loved it when Ricky sang. Even before the musical, there was just something about the way Ricky would become animated when singing, even when he was giving a jokey performance. 

Throughout the entirety of the song, Ricky spun Red around and did dance moves that Red would most definitely have fallen if he attempted. Later in the song, everyone joined them in dancing to the song, which led to all of them jumping around while holding on to each other and probably being an annoyance to other rollerskaters. But, it didn’t matter. 

And that’s when it went downhill.

Red lost balance in the midst of all the chaos and took a roller skate to the head. Everything went black and when his eyes opened, he was greeted with everyone’s wide eyes and worried faces, far too close to him.

‘“Um, guys?” Red adjusted his position to sit up straighter.

“Right! Right, sorry!” Carlos exclaimed, taking a step back.

There was a split second of silence before Red was met with a chorus of voices.

“Are you okay?”

“Do you remember us?”

“How’s your head?”

“Oh god, he’s gonna die.” 

“Shut up! Don’t say that!”

“Do you want more ice?”

Huh. Red hadn’t even noticed the ice pack being held to his head by Ricky, who was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Do you remember what happened?” Ricky rubbed Red’s back soothingly. “The lady just bandaged you up and gave you ice.”

“Yeah,” Red turned to Ricky quickly, “Someone attempted to murder me.” 

Everyone’s concerned faces dissipated into ones of relief. No matter what, Red was always just going to be Red. And that was something wonderful.

“Hey, I hate to leave right now, but my parents need me home to help with the animals before it gets too late. I’m sorry,” Seb apologized.

“It’s okay, Seb. Get home safely. See you tomorrow?” Red asked.

“Of course.” Seb smiled, saying goodbye to everyone. 

“Call as soon as you get home safely. If I go to sleep without so much as a message confirming that you’re okay-” Carlos threatened. 

“I will,” Red chuckled.

Carlos followed suit seeing as Seb was his ride and they went to return their skates at the booth. 

“You guys should get home, it’s getting late,” Ricky said tiredly. Everyone was about to protest when Ricky cut them off, “As much as I loved tonight, it’s literally finals week. Get some rest, guys.”

“We can stay, it’s no worry. Really,” Nini reassured. “If that’s okay with EJ, of course, he’s our ride.” Nini looked toward EJ who nodded without hesitation.

“No, absolutely. You guys can drive home, but we’ll trail behind to make sure you get home safe.”

“Guys, there’s no need, I’m fine,” Red sighed dejectedly.

“Hey, it won’t hurt, babe,” Ricky set down the ice pack, looking anywhere but at Red. Ricky had called Red ‘babe’ before he could stop himself, and although a little shocked himself, Ricky didn’t regret it.

“Come on, Red,” Kourtney pleaded. “There’s no use in arguing otherwise.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go, we have to study for finals tomorrow,” Red resigned.

Red started heading towards the exit when Ricky pulled him back gently. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We gotta return our skates.”

“Okay, _babe_.” Red slowly skated towards the skate booth, leaving Ricky speechless for a couple moments. EJ patted Ricky on the back, giving him a teasing smile while the girls smirked at the curly hair brunette.

•••

Two cars stopped in front of Red’s house, a group of seven kids piling onto the front lawn.

“Thank you, guys,” Red pulled everyone into a group hug.

“See you for our study hangout tomorrow,” Nini whispered softly, leaning her head on Gina’s shoulders.

“You better be on time for once,” Gina threatened.

“No promises,” Ricky joked, although it was only a moment before his face became more serious. “But thank you, guys. For real, you didn’t have to.”

“Nonsense,” Ashlyn waved her hand in the air.

“If you really thought we were going to do any different, you’re dumber than we thought. And you know Seb and Carlos would’ve been here if they could,” agreed Kourtney.

Speak of the devil, Ricky and Red’s phones started ringing simultaneously. Carlos was calling Ricky while Seb’s name popped up on Red’s lockscreen.

Everyone chuckled and both calls were accepted.

“Did you guys get home okay?” Carlos asked.

“How’s your head, Red?” Seb questioned.

“Everything’s good guys, swear,” Red said. “So everyone can go home now and get some rest before we study our asses off tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay. I still have to drop everyone off, sadly,” EJ complained.

“Your fault for agreeing to take us,” Gina pointed out.

“I will leave you here.”

“Gina, last time this happened he actually did leave you, so let’s just go sit in the car,” Nini pulled on Gina’s arm. She turned to Red and Ricky and gave them both a hug, “Goodnight.”

After exchanging goodbyes and goodnights and ending calls with the two sweetest boys alive, Red and Ricky went to the bathroom to clean up Red’s cut before saying goodbye to each other. Neither of Red’s parents was home seeing as they both worked night shifts.

Red propped himself up on the bathroom counter while Ricky grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet. Usually, it would be Red patching up Ricky’s skateboarding injuries and even though Ricky would rather Red not be injured, there was a small part of him that liked being able to take care of Red for once.

Red always took care of other people, never looking for any sort of recompense. “I can do it myself, you know. You should go home,” Red said absentmindedly as he rifled through the kit looking for the tube of Neosporin and a Band-Aid.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Ricky moved Red’s hand, “just let me… do this. Take care of you for once.”

Red hesitated but begrudgingly obliged, “Okay.”

Ricky took off Red’s old bandage and began applying the Neosporin, continuing even though Red was wincing slightly. But the two had been through this a dozen of times. Just get it over with.

“I’m sorry,” Ricky sighed, “that our date ended with you having a concussion.”

“Hey,” Red grabbed both of Ricky’s hands, “it’s not your fault. It _isn’t._ I just can’t do any athletic activity that isn’t skateboarding.”

Ricky let a small laugh escape his lips. “I’m still sorry.” Ricky looked down at their hands, fiddling with Red’s fingers so he didn’t half to look Red in the eyes. “A-And, I know we’re in kind of a serious moment right now and it’s probably not a good time to bring this up with your head cut and all, but… what are we?” Ricky slowly looked up to be met with wide eyes.

“Because I like you a lot, Red. Like so so so much. And I know that I took a long time to realize that but the _me_ before we became whatever we are now doesn’t even compare. I don’t want to go back to being just friends. I want to be more than- more than just-” Ricky’s breathing was getting increasingly uneven, his eyes threatening to spill over with tears.

Ricky felt like he couldn’t breathe. Like all the air was getting trapped inside his lungs and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Air just kept filling his lungs and there was no way out. He started thinking about how some people’s lungs swell and-

And it was like he could breathe again. 

Ricky felt a pair of lips against his, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. He sighed into the kiss, snaking his arms around Red’s shoulders, deepening the kiss as if there was still too much distance between them. Ricky’s hand found itself in Red’s short locks and slightly tugged, feeling the arms around his waist tighten in response.

Ricky was the one to pull away first when the need for air overcame his desire to keep kissing his redhead best friend, but it only lasted a moment before Red’s lips reconnected with his. Ricky completely melted into the kiss but not long after, his brain short-circuited. _Why did Red start kissing me?_

As if the boy on his mind could literally _read his mind,_ Ricky heard, “You were rambling and I remember watching that one scene in Teen Wolf when Lydia kissed Stiles and the situations aren’t exactly the same but I just thou-”

This time, Red’s lips were met with Ricky’s for a quick moment. 

“You were rambling.”

Red beamed at Ricky before swinging their arms back and forth. Matching his smile, Ricky looked down at Red, “I-I _do_ want to be more than friends. If that’s okay with you.”

Both Red and Ricky, at that moment, took a pause. Things were going to change, but this type of change was welcomed with open arms. If they were to label their relationship romantically, it would mean they could be fully and totally in love with one another.

Neither of them would want to admit it but there was something holding them back from going full-on disgustingly cute couple in public and the whole dancing around their situation contributed to it. 

Red used Ricky’s leather jacket to pull him closer, pecking him on the lips. Ricky’s eyes closed for a split second and when he fully opened his eyes, it’s like everything he saw just seemed more… colorful. Despite the plain white and gray in the bathroom, of course.

“I’m taking that as yes?” Ricky scoffed.

“I wasn’t asked anything, though,” Red said innocently.

“You’re a menace,” Ricky joked, “Will you, Big Red, my best friend, owner of my heart, one who would never ever _dream_ of hurting me, do me, the lowly Ricky Bowen, the honor of being my boyfriend?” Halfway through the dramatic proclamation, Ricky had ended up on one knee, holding both of Red’s hands.

“And you’re dramatic,” Red pulled Ricky up to his feet the best he could while sitting on the bathroom counter. “But yeah, I’d love to be your boyfriend. I think that’d be pretty cool.”

“You know what else I think would be pretty cool?” Ricky asked. Red’s face twisted into one of slight confusion. “If you kissed me again.”

Ricky bent down and kissed Red, both of them leaning back on the bathroom mirror. Red’s waist was tightly held by Ricky’s arms, and soon enough, Ricky felt a hand entangled in his brown curls. Electricity flowed through both of them and neither boys could fathom how they survived before they could do _this._

When the front door of the house slammed closed, the two boys broke apart. In the process, Red hit his head on the mirror, a strike of pain traveling to the cut on his forehead. “Shit,” Red winced.

“Honey, everything okay in there?” His mom asked through the door.

“Yeah, just fell during rollerskating. Ricky’s in here, too but don’t worry he’ll be home soon!”

“Alright, sweetie,” his mom yawned, “goodnight, boys. And if you need to stay over, Ricky, you’re always welcome.”

Once footsteps could be heard retreating from the bathroom, the redhead and brunette let out a large sigh of relief they didn’t realize they were holding in. 

“You should get home,” Red stood up from the counter and walked out the restroom, Ricky following closely behind.

“Are you going to be okay?” Ricky asked as the pair walked downstairs to the front door.

“Yes, don’t worry. Just get home safely, okay?”

Red opened the front door, the cold night air wafting inside. He grabbed his car keys and threw them at Ricky who was halfway out the door.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll pick you up before we meet with everyone else to study.”

“Remember your purple binder. For APUSH. We have our mock on Thursday.”

“I will, it’s somewhere in my room,” Ricky waved dismissively. “See you tomorrow.”

Ricky jogged to Red’s car but just as Red was about to close the front door, the taller boy squeezed through pulling him in for yet another kiss.

After they pulled apart, Ricky nodded as if he had proudly completed a video game level. Big Red thought it was adorable.

“See you tomorrow,” he whispered as the car pulled out of the driveway and sped away. 

So, yes. The big date didn’t turn out exactly as they had planned. It did, in fact, end with one of them getting kicked in the head by a roller skate, but that didn’t matter. Big Red and Ricky Bowen would both agree their date turned out better than either of them hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 ; also on god i DO NOT know how to write anything for the life of me what the heck

**Author's Note:**

> i hope this was decent i don't know how to write well im sorry God


End file.
